10 Oct -- Moi Day -- Established on the 10th day of the 10th month 10 years after the inauguration of President Daniel arap Moi as the second President of Kenya.
October 2010:
The new constitution scrapped Moi Day and replaced Kenyatta day with Hero's (Mashujaa) Day in efforts to celebrate the men and women who fought for Kenya's freedom .

20 Oct -- Kenyatta Day -- This is to commemorate the arrest of Jomo Kenyatta and the declaration of the State of Emergency on 20 October 1952.
October 2010:
The new constitution scrapped Moi Day and replaced Kenyatta day with Hero's (Mashujaa) Day in efforts to celebrate the men and women who fought for Kenya's freedom .Jomo Kenyatta

. . . . .

12 Dec -- Uhuru or Jamhuri Day -- This is to commemorate the day on which Kenya achieved its Independence, on 12 December 1963.
> -- Jamhuri Day

26 Dec -- Boxing Day -- celebrating St Stephen's Day and the second
day of the Christmas season.
> -- WKD ... St Stephen's Day

Varies -- Idd ul Fitr
The Muslim festival of Idd-ul-Fitr is also a public holiday and takes place on the sighting of the new moon at the end of Ramadhan. The exact date varies according to the position of the New Moon.

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.. .. .. .. .. .. Annual events in Kenya

Apart from big celebrations that are held on Madaraka, Kenyatta and Independence Days, Nairobi is also the venue for a number of large international and national sports matches. Nairobi further enhances its cosmopolitan image by hosting a number of annual shows and
festivals.

As one of the assignments for this course, students were asked to do a piece of creative writing using the characteristics (whether formal or not) of one of the texts that we discussed during the semester.

There are Jewish, Muslim and Hindu religious festivals celebrated here, although the Christian ones are the only that rate a national holiday right now.

Some of our national holidays are interesting in terms of kigo.
For instance, Heritage Day is celebrated on 24 September in the spring so there is a contrast between the forward-looking season and the backwards-looking celebration.
Another like Youth Day is 16 June, almost mid-winter and very appropriate perhaps to the tragedy of that day in 1976.

And then there is our fynbos ("feiner Busch") , a unique and indigenous family of plants. So diverse that I think some or other species of it are in flower at any one time of the year. So fynbos is something really South African but not really something that one can associate with a season as such.

12/30/2014

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.. .. .. .. .. Getting to Know Kenya

The peoples of Kenya
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Kenya is a huge country, comparable with the whole of Europe, rather than any individual country within the continent. The population of 29 million people (1999 census) live in hugely different circumstances, depending on their location -- from desert to beach, from the fertile plateau to sodium lakes, from well watered hills to arid bush, from uninhabited areas to urban conglomerations. Some areas are densely populated, while others know only semi-nomadic seasonal pastoralists.

Within Kenya live 32 nations, each with its own language, as well as numerous others who speak dialects of these 32. The national language, which only a small minority speak as their mother tongue, is Swahili (in Swahili : Kiswahili). By means of this second language, all people of Kenya can communicate, not only with each other, but with the people of the neighbouring countries.

To compare with Europe again -- if all Europeans learnt Esperanto as their second language and used it to communicate with each other, rather than learning dozens of each other's languages, the same efficient effect could be achieved. English in Kenya is the third language, used for secondary and tertiary education throughout the country, as well as for primary education in the melting pot of Nairobi. Each child therefore prepares for adult life through education in her or his third language from secondary school at the latest. There must be few other countries who do this! Most Kenyans therefore, who have attended school beyond the age of 14, are trilingual -- though not of course equally competent in each of these languages.

In Kenya have met 3 great families of nations, the Bantu, the Nilotic and the Cushitic -- a rich mix which has not occurred in any other country. If we compare with Europe, this is populated above all by Indo-Europeans, but there are also Finno-Ugric peoples (the Finns, Estonians and Hungarians) and Basques (apparently related to no other people on earth). In other words, English and Hindi are more similar than Kikuyu and Luo (to mention the two largest nations within Kenya).

The political system is, of course, the same for all. Legally, some differences exist, as each nation may have its own law in matters such as matrimony and inheritance.

Culture and attitudes differ vastly between these nations -- and of course between individuals!

Kenyans were not in the past happy emigrants -- preferring their own country to those of others. More recently, there has been a change, with a search for the crock of gold... that same crock which eluded most of the Irish emigrants of the past...

In 1911, the german enthomologist prof. Kattwinkel fell down a ravine while he was pursuing an unusual butterfly. The place was Olduvai Gorge, in Serengeti. The fall was hard, but the scientist somehow managed to save his life. Then he raised his eyes, and only a scientist would have appreciated that the rocky wall was an extraordinary fossil bed... And this changed the conception man had of his own origin.
To tell the history of Kenya, we must go right to the start, to the dawn of mankind.
... kenyalogy.com

Kenya's many ethnic groups have a well developed and sophisticated folklore which embodies their history, traditions, mores, world-view and wisdom. Their legends recount the movement of people to and from the rift valley, into the highlands, the grasslands and the lake regions. Famous historical figures such as the Kikuyu Gikuyu and Mumbi or the Luo culture hero Liongo are represented in myths and legends. Myths include accounts of how cattle were given to a certain people by God. The Maasai have this legend, so when they went on cattle raids they were getting back what was rightfully theirs. The Kikuyu also have a similar story.

Folk tales try to answer etymological questions, such as why the hyena has a limp and the origin of death. In many Kenyan cultures the message that men would not die was given to a chameleon, but he was so slow that a bird got to man before him and gave them the message that men would die. Folk tales also recount the adventures of tricksters. In Kenya, tricksters are usually the hare or the tortoise. The ogre is another popular, if evil, character in many Kenyan folk tales. The ogre devours whole communities but is eventually vanquished by the actions of a brother and sister. The brother then cuts the toe of the ogre and all the people it ate come out.

Each ethnic group has a large store of riddles, proverbs and sayings, which are still an important aspect of daily speech. Riddles were usually exchanged in the evening before a storytelling session. Riddling sessions are usually competitions between two young people who fictionally bet villages, or cattle, or other items of economic life on the outcome. Many cultures have a prohibition on telling riddles during daylight hours. The Kikuyu had a very elaborate sung riddle game, a duet called the enigma poem or gicandia set text poem of riddles. It is sung in a duet and the players are in a competition. The duet is strikingly different than the normal singing of the Kikuyu performed by a soloist and a chorus. The poem is learned by heart. A decorated gourd rattle accompanies the singing One gicandi may consists of 127 stanzas.

Proverbs are social phenomenon and as such they can be defined as a message coded by tradition and transmitted in order to evaluate and/or effect human behavior. Proverbs reveal key elements of a culture such as the position and influence of women, morality, what is considered appropriate behavior, and the importance of children. For example the Luo have these proverbs:
(1) The eye you have treated will look at you contemptuously.
(2) A cowardly hyena lives for many years.
(3) The swimmer who races alone, praises the winner.

Some Kikuyu examples includes:
(1) Women and the sky cannot be understood.
(2) The man may be the head of the home, but the woman is the heart.
(3) Frowning frogs cannot stop the cows drinking from the pool.

There are also several proverbs in Swahili and English that have become part of Kenyans' daily life. For example: Haraka Haraka haina baraka (hurry hurry has not blessing) and also, When elephants fight it is the grass that suffers.

The Swahili people on Kenya's coast have had a rich oral tradition that has been influenced by Islam. Stories of genies are told side by side with stories of hare and hyena. There is also a very rich tradition of popular poetry that has been part of Swahili cultural life for over four centuries.

Kenyan radio and television shows use folklore as part of their daily programming. Oral literature is part of the secondary and university syllabus. Part of the requirement in these classes is for students to collect folklore from their parents and grandparents. Kenyans believe that folklore is an important part of their heritage and culture and are taking steps to preserve and encourage folklore and education. While global culture in the shape of movies, music and literature is replacing folklore, Kenyans are actively involved in its maintenance.

Nakuru means "Dust or Dusty Place" in Maasai language. Lake Nakuru National Park, close to Nakuru town, was established in 1961. It started off small, only encompassing the famous lake and the surrounding mountainous vicinity. Now it has been extended to include a large part of the savannahs.http://www.africanmeccasafaris.com/kenya/safaris/parks/lakenakuru.asp

http://www.go2africa.com/kenya/rift-valley/lake-nakuru-national-park/

................ Ben Guaraldi : Birds in Flight

The birds in their flight--
a slow undulating line
that moves up and down.

written in Nakuru Park, Kenyahttp://www.bluesock.org/~ben/cgi-bin/haiku.pl/2005/11/06

Lake Nakuru
is a very shallow strongly alkaline lake 62 km2 in extent. It is set in a picturesque landscape of surrounding woodland and grassland next to Nakuru town. The landscape includes areas of marsh and grasslands alternating with rocky cliffs and outcrops, stretches of acacia woodland and rocky hillsides covered with a Euphorbia forest on the eastern perimeter.http://www.kws.org/nakuru.html

In an equatorial country, such as Kenya, seasons work very differently from those in temperate zones, such as Japan and Europe.

In August 2007, the two most active Haiku Clubs of Kenya, the Bamboochas of Bahati Community Centre Secondary School and the Peacocks of St Mathew Secondary School, invited me to discuss with them the importance of kigo and haiku topics for Kenya haijin.

What follows here are the joint reflections of the clubs, their patrons and myself, which were later discussed with the Worldkigo Database Group in September 2007.

The next thing was to apply this thinking and feeling to the Kenyan seasons. Kenyans are much less used to thinking of their year as being broken down into seasons, than people living in temperate zones are. For the sake of simplification, we dispensed with the hot / cold aspect and concentrated first of all on the more important rainy / dry season distinction -- there are two of each as the year goes on.

As we discussed, we found that the associated words which came to us, could be organised along certain categories, some of which are :

Unlike Europe and Japan, where the year revolves in a cycle, with the whole of nature participating in a crescendo and diminuendo, followed by another crescendo, in Kenya, each season is more balanced, and each has its "good" and "bad" sides. Each season brings its own growth, its own food, its own suffering and despair.

Compared with human life, they responded that the rains corresponded to "childhood and youth", and the dry seasons to all the other ages -- "maturity, old age and death".

They then reflected whether this held for urban areas as well as rural. They agreed that the dry seasons were in many respects easier for an urban person than the rainy seasons -- but even urban people depend on the food grown in the rural areas, and if this does not grow in sufficient quantity or at the right time, prices rise and the urban population suffers hunger as much as the rural population does. So, the parallels shift only slightly in the urban setting as compared with the rural one.

were more complicated, as those of us who were keen observers, had noticed that different aspects of these subjects were noticeable at different times of year.

Thus, the fly, which is there all year round, becomes more of a nuisance in the dry season. The thorn tree, which is beautiful and has leaves all year round, flowers in the cool dry season. The weaver bird, which is observed all year round, rears its young at a specific time of year (to be observed).

... goatmeat

is a kigo for Christians at Christmas, being most Kenyans' preferred meat for the big festivals. But we also realised that this is popular for family celebrations (the homecoming of a much loved child studying or working far away, the meeting of two families whose children are about to get married, etc.). And we realised that Kenyan Muslims, who share the same preference for goatmeat as a special festive food, like to eat this for Idd Ul Fittr and other great Muslim festivals.

This, we had realised, seems to be more difficult in Kenya than in temperate places like Europe and Japan.

The Kenyan seasons have several disadvantages -- from a haijin's point of view!

(a) they have long names
(b) their names are not in common use
(c) many kigo are identical for the two rainy seasons / the two dry seasons
(d) the weather is not all that different all year round
(e) there is no general and simultaneous crescendo and diminuendo of nature in Kenya

Just a few comments here :

(a) In a temperate haiku, it is easy to use "spring breeze", "summer sunset", "autumn loneliness" or "winter chill", for instance, to create an immediate feeling for the season and its atmosphere. It is not so easy for a haijin to say "breeze of the cool dry season" or "wind of the long rains".

(b) Even if it could be done, the feeling would not be as tangible as that of the temperate haiku. People are not as used to thinking in terms of the current season in order to express themselves.

(c) This is probably self evident. Examples are : mud, dust, puddle, downpour, flying termites, bullfrogs, etc. Each of these kigo occur in two seasons each year.

(d) We have brilliant sunshine during the rainy seasons, haijin may want to include this is a haiku (rainfall is mostly in the afternoon and evening). The quality of the sunshine during the rains does not differ significantly from that during the dry seasons. Equally, we have showers during the dry seasons, and sometimes even heavy rain. Less frequently, of course, but normal all the same.

(e) In the short term, one could say that each rainy season plus the following dry season is a unit, so that there are two of these units per year. There is planting and growth, followed by harvest and preparation in each of these units.

In the longer term, there are fruit (particularly those which grow on trees) which mature only once per year -- but taking all such fruit together, they mature throughout the year at different times.

Taking the whole country (which straddles the Equator) as a unit, we find that there is always a part of the country in which the same plant has a different cycle. Thus, Nairobi is never short of fresh avocadoes, mangoes, pawpaws and many other fruit, all year round, because when one part of the country has finished its harvest, another part of the country will bring in a new one.

In August, when the cassia trees of Nairobi are leafless and resting with their ripe seeds (produced by the flowers of January to April), the cassia trees of Kisumu are flowering beautifully.

In Kenya, we may not be able to advise haijin that every haiku should have a kigo.
Kenyan kigo are a lot more difficult than temperate kigo.
We may need to allow the use of haiku topics instead of kigo.

Many of these are associated with detailed ceremonial, often taking place in several stages.

In Kenya Saijiki, we have already collected some material on circumcision, on mourning, on peace. These could be the start of a Kenya specific collection of haiku topics.

We have also started on haiku topics associated with geography, the beauty of the different parts of the country.

The wild animals of Kenya, so numerous and beautiful, can give rise to many kigo, once we have observed them sufficiently. Most of them do not live in urban areas -- so this observation will take some time. But the animals will also be topics. A zebra is a being of beauty all year round -- no haijin will ever regard a Kenya zebra or another wild animal as something ordinary, and it will always be a pleasure to write about them.

This is fascinating and remarkable. I enjoyed everyone and every one. This is such a worthy project and I had no idea. Congratulations and kudos to all involved and you for publicising it... I would love to see more of it... Kirsty Karkow

Shiki Monthly Kukai
Several of the Club members have been participating in the Shiki Monthly Kukai from mid-2006 onwards :